Roadmap for ‘bread waste war’ declared

ANKARA - Anatolia News Agency

Turkish government conducts a campaign to prevent waste of bread, main component of Turkish diet, as well as to make its ingredients healthier. AA photo

The government has revealed the roadmap for its war against the wasting of bread, which causes around 1.5 billion Turkish Liras in losses per year.

A survey conducted by the Agriculture Ministry revealed that around 6 million loafs of bread were wasted every day in Turkey, amounting to 2.1 billion a year.

The prime ministry memorandum, published in the Official Gazette yesterday, announced that “the campaign for preventing the waste of bread” had been launched on Jan. 17. The campaign aims to prevent bread wasting at both the production and consumption phases, providing for the conservation of bread under convenient conditions and the evaluation of stale and surplus bread.

It also aims to increase the consumption of breads produced from wheat instead of white flour. Prime Minister

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan started a campaign against the wasting of bread in January, hinting at regulations that could alter the amount as well as the ingredients of consumption-ready bread.

The Agriculture Ministry and its Turkish Grain Board (TMO) have been instructed to carry out the campaign. They will organize activities in order to educate the public and engage in cooperation with NGOs, the private sector, and business organizations.The website “www.ekmekisrafetme.com” (Don’t Waste Bread), which has the “Survey of Bread Waste in Turkey,” will be promoted on their websites.

They will evaluate the final results of the research and plan precautions and activities in light of these results.